Plenty of people have pointed to reduced viewing figures for the F1 in the UK since Sky took the contract. That's true, but what's also true is that the revenue raised per viewer has also increased, and that's what broadcasters are really interested in. Fantastic that 3 million used to watch F1 on the BBC, but Sky are far happier with their 500,000 or whatever who are either new subscribers or who pay an extra £10 a month.
A point I've tried to make in the past is how - relatively - unimportant the UK is as part of the overall F1 audience. It is a mature, developed market, in which loads more people will watch F1 if it was free but also one in which people can choose to pay to watch. But that's a payment that costs more than just F1, as Sky insist you bundle other things in with it too.
Liberty don't - with their service you just pay for F1. So far they appear to have shown absolutely zero interest in trying to end Sky's contract early and put their own service into the UK. I wonder why that is - perhaps because the UK audience is already maxed out with the current format? I'd love to get access to Liberty's service in the UK now, but I don't think it is really going to make a big financial difference to Liberty. We're a relatively small population, with a very high proportion of people who irrationally resent paying money for some things and don't give a **** how much they spend on others.
